Legion
by AcaciaDawn105
Summary: Tragedy strikes a young woman and her path crosses with the great Earl Phantomhive and his mysterious butler. This is a glimpse of her life in this new environment.
1. Chapter 1

_**Legion**_

_**Chapter One~ Down the Rabbit Hole**_

_**A/N: I know there's a lot of these back-in-time/different universe stories, but I just couldn't help it. I love the idea, and wanted to put my own spin on it. So, ladies and gentlemen, hold on to your panties, and let's get this party started. Song I'm listening to for this story is Don't Threaten Me With a Good Time-Panic!At The Disco, because...y'know... "I lost a bet to a guy in a chiffon skirt, but I make these high heels work."**_

)0(

Bri sat staring at the shower of shooting stars streaking across the night sky. Her lips turned up the slightest bit as her eyes darted back and forth to follow the little lines of light. As the meteor shower ended, she closed the astronomy book in her lap. She'd been waiting for the shower for months now, as she had never seen one before. Ever since she'd started watching the skies as a child, she'd wanted to watch the stars fall. Now she had crossed something off her bucket list. Bri moved to get up, brushing grass off her butt. The clearing she'd managed to find was only a little-ways outside the city, far enough away to be able to see the stars, but close enough that the drive wasn't horrible. Gathering up her bag, Bri stuffed her book into it and took one last look up at the sky. After a moment, she smiled again as a single star shot across it. Perfect timing, must have been a special star just for her.

_Bring me an adventure,_ she wished. She wished it with all her heart. She'd led a rather boring life for the most part. Born and bred in a midsized town in Missouri, she'd gone to school down the road a-ways, and gotten a job at a bank in the downtown area. One thing that hadn't been so ordinary had been her love-life.

Since high school, it had been one bad relationship after another. Mostly, they started out well enough, but either they ended up losing interest, or cheating on her, or becoming borderline abusive. Her mother had been in abusive relationships too, and she had seen that growing up, so she knew the signs early on and ended things before they got out of hand. It was almost like she was cursed. At least, she said so. Her grandmother had always said she was just getting all the bad things out of the way so she'd have all the good later in life. Either way, it had made her sick to her stomach of the whole deal.

Back at her car, she only sat for a moment in the driver seat, contemplating the wish she'd just sent out to the universe. What kind of adventure did she really expect from a wish? Like there was anything she could do on her budget. As much as she wanted to, to go explore the world and experience things, places, and people...she knew she wouldn't get any farther away than the next state over.

With little more than a shrug, she turned the key and started off back to the city.

)0(

Music pours out of the windows of Bri's purple '96 Chevy Cavalier, which were down due to the heat of the summer night. Even after 9 p.m., the temperatures still soared into the high 80s. Pulling up to her building, her voice joined the beginning of Adam Lambert's 'If I Had You'. She sat in her car for a few more moments, taking her time rolling up her windows and gathering her things while the song played. Once it was over, she hauled herself out of the vehicle and locked the door.

A movement down the street caught her attention, and Bri turned to look. As far as she could tell, there was nothing there. _Probably just a cat_. She turned back and made her way up the stairs to the front door. It was an older building, so she had to flip through her keyring for the one to the door. Humming to herself as she searched, she tried to ignore the feeling of prickles on the back of her neck. Once she had finally found the key and fitted it into the lock, she started to relax. She was almost home.

"'Scuse me, ma'am,"

Bri gasped, startled, swirling around to face the voice. A hand flew to her chest to stop the scream from escaping. Behind her was a scraggly man in a dark grey, sweat stained hoodie and ratty blue jeans. His rheumy, watery blue eyes squinted at her.

"Sorry, you startled me. Are you ok, sir?" she extended a hand towards him, unthinking.

In less than the blink of an eye, he had a hold of her wrist. The grip of his hand ground the bones in her hand together and she cried out in pain. "Give me your purse, lady. I don't want to hurt you."

"I don't have any money, please, I have no cash at all! I don't get paid until tomorrow!"

"Give. Me. The. _Purse!" _He spat in her face, yanking on her arm.

Bri tried to twist her wrist out of his hand, holding her purse closer to her side, but that only succeeded in making him harden his grip on her.

What was she thinking? She should just give it to him. It wasn't as if there was anything of importance in there, besides her driver's license. All her little bit of money, debit card, and other bits and bobs she usually kept in her wallet had been left on her nightstand, as she didn't think she'd need them tonight.

Pain blossomed just to the left of her belly button. The breath was punched out of her, and her eyes widened in shock. Looking down at her abdomen, she was astonished to see the handle of a blade sticking out of her. The hand holding the knife tightened, then pulled. The sight of her blood dribbling down to the waistband of her jeans entranced her. Her gaze trailed back up to the man's haggard, meth-pocked face, eyes wide as she watched him tense again, pulled at her wrist, and plunge the knife into her soft belly again.

And again.

And again.

The next thing she was conscious of was being sprawled out over the steps of her building, her glasses half off her face, feeling the man yanking her purse off her shoulder with some difficulty, as she was still holding it tightly despite the loss of blood, and she felt her left shoulder pop out of place as it caught badly in the crook of her elbow. Her vision started fading in and out as she watched the man run away with her bag, leaving the knife lying beside her on the pavement. The pain was overwhelming, causing her to gasp in an attempt to clear her head. It was difficult, considering that she had a possible punctured lung. There was a terrible pressure in her chest.

Then suddenly, she was falling.

)0(

It was dark, terribly dark. And cold.

She was floating through the dark. There was some sense of moving in a direction, though she couldn't quite tell which way. She didn't even know where she was. There was no sense of time for her in this place, no day or night.

_Briathos_

She tried to open her eyes, but found she had none. No body to move, no lungs to breathe with.

_Briathos_

Slowly, it seemed that her body began rematerialize. Suddenly, she could feel her arms again, then her legs, and then the rest.

And it hurt.

)0(

Something was hitting her face. Cold and wet, it pelted her. She opened her eyes to only see a grey sky, pouring down rain, soaking her to the bone. She was alone, in some sort of grove. She realized that her lungs hurt, begging for air. A gasp escaped her, pulling in oxygen, filling them to the brim, then expelling quickly. It was a few more deep breaths before she realized something.

She was supposed to be dead.

The man had stabbed her, multiple times. And she had been in the city. So how did she get here? All she did know, was that everything hurt. Bri tried to force herself up into a sitting position, but her abdomen flared up in pain and she fell back again. A weak groan made its way up her throat.

Then she passed out again.

)0(

She was swaying and jostling about. Her eyes opened to the dark grey sky again, but saw that trees and bushes were passing by quickly. Suddenly they were gone, and she heard someone yelling.

"Mey-Rin! Bard! I need help!" A high voice called out.

"What's going' on?" A deeper man's voice answered. "Finny, who's that?"

"I don't know! I found 'er out in the oak grove. She's bleeding, Bard!"

"Jesus Christ! Let's get her inside, we'll call the doctor. Sebastian will know what to do."

Suddenly, the rain had stopped. The men were calling for someone named Sebastian, doors slammed, and another voice answered, a woman this time.

"Wha's going' on? Oh, my!"

"What is all this ruckus?" Another man's voice joined the fray. "Who on earth is this?"

"Finny said he found her in the grove. Looks like she's been stabbed. What do we do?"

"Mey-Rin, go phone the doctor. Finny, follow me, we'll lay her down in one of the guest rooms. Bard, we'll need hot water and cloths, go and fetch them." The new voice had an air of authority, so she could only imagine that this was the Sebastian they were all looking for. There was more running, doors opening and closing. She was set down on a soft bed, her belly bared to the people in the room. Gasps all around were heard.

"Good lord! Who could have done this?" the woman asked.

"The question is more how she managed to get to our lord's property. If she was traveling, she would have no reason to do so through our part of the country. I doubt we will ever know who did this, as they are probably already long gone. Madame, can you hear me?"

Bri groaned. It was weak and breathy, but it was still an answer, and the only one she could give at the moment. The pain was immense. A face swam in her vision. Dark hair and brown, almost red eyes, bore into her.

"She appears to be conscious. Can you tell me your name, miss?"

"B-Bria-thos," she gasped. "My name is Briathos." The face withdrew suddenly from above her, a look of disgust on it. "Please, h-help me."

"Certainly, my lady. Can you tell us what happened?"

It took her a moment, she had to wet her throat a few times and gasped in air. "I was at home. Some meth-head stabbed me." She was finally able to get out.

"Meth-head?" the woman asked. "Is she talking about a drug addict?"

"Of some sort, I'm sure," Sebastian answered.

The one called Bard had finally arrived with the hot water. He was beckoned over by the man supposedly in charge. Suddenly, white hot pain shot through her and she screamed. Her hand flew to whoever it was standing over her and gripped at the wrist that held a hot cloth to her stomach. Her nails dug into the skin between the long sleeve and glove he wore. She momentarily thought how odd it was that he wore gloves while wetting her skin. Wouldn't that get them wet? Surely that was very uncomfortable.

"Please, miss, I need my arm to attend to your wounds. They are quite deep. How you are not dead yet is a miracle."

"Please, make it stop. It hurts."

"As I'm sure it will for a while longer. The doctor will arrive soon, and he will be able to adequately stitch your wounds and give you something for the pain. Just hold on a little longer."

The dark crept back in, cutting off all the hustle and bustle.

)0(

Sebastian watched the light of consciousness fade from her face as her eyes rolled back into her head behind her fine spectacles. _Briathos? The angel who thwarts demons...what a strange choice of name for a child._ He eased her hand away from his arm, laying it gently on the bed, then returned to look at the wounds. They were each about two inches across, and as he said, quite deep as far as he could tell. From the smell, there was a small arterial bleed somewhere in her abdomen. As he wiped away the drying blood, he noticed something quite strange. She had a bar of metal with an iridescent purple ball on each end through her belly button. A piercing? It was an odd thing, especially for a woman. He could feel the eyes of the three boring into his back. Not wanting them to see and start asking questions, he covered her belly with a cloth and turned back to them.

"Haven't you all something to do? Baldroy, dinner will need to be ready before 6:30, and I'm sure our guest will want to eat _something_ once she wakes. Finny, I believe the garden is still in need of weeding, and please, do not use any sort of weed killer again. Just pick them by hand. Mey-Rin, I'll need you to wait at the door for the doctor. Once he has arrived, please see him in, then go polish the silver for dinner."

"Yes, sir!" they all saluted him and ran to their respective duties.

Once they were gone again, he removed the cloth and inspected the little bar. He touched it, moving it with his finger to and fro, seeing that it was, well and truly, pierced through the upper skin of her navel. There was a dark bit of scarring around the upper hole, as if it had not healed quite right. The rest of her was just as strange. She wore her honey colored hair loose around her shoulders, except for two small pieces tied behind her head. Her trousers were of a material he had never in his long years seen, her white shirt lay partially unbuttoned, showing a white brassiere as he had never seen. Her boots, caked in mud, were of a fine material, sturdy and well worn. Her jewelry was simple, but good quality. The thin silver chain hung behind her neck, so he pulled it up to look at the charm. It was some sort of cage shaped like a frog, with a pastel green pearl inside of it. Real, not cheaply made or made of paste. The rest of it though, her bracelet and earrings were cheap. Made of some sort of hard, clear material, and silver-plated nickel by the smell of it.

He heard a knocking at the front door. Certainly, it was the doctor. He covered her for the moment, until he could be alone with the physician. Mey-Rin's booted footsteps echoed down the hall. There was a knock at the door to the room. "Come in." He called out. The maid opened the door for the doctor and then backed out. "Dr. Halmund, thank you for coming so quickly. As you can see, we have had a bit of an emergency. She was found out in the woods by the gardener. It appears that she has been stabbed multiple times. I would prefer to keep anything you see within this room to yourself. Your patient is a bit...odd."

"My dear boy," the (seemingly) older man adjusted his glasses. "I have seen all manor of strange things. I highly doubt there's anything that can surprise me anymore. Now, let me see the wounds." He moved forward, taking the cover off her. Immediately, he drew back. "How is this child alive?"

"Sir, I hardly think she is a child. However, I do understand. I believe there is an arterial bleed somewhere."

Dr. Halmund looked at him strangely. "Have you been to school for this, young man?"

"No, sir."

"Then how could you possibly know that?"

Sebastian smirk, "Only a guess, sir. The fact that she has not yet stopped bleeding, and it has been flowing quite freely for some time now."

"I see. Normally, I would have her brought to the surgery for this, but if she's still bleeding, then moving her is not an option. It'll have to be done here. I'll need your help. Have you got steady hands?"

"Steady as can be, sir."

"Good. Go wash your hands in the basin and light a few lanterns. We'll need all the light we can get."

"Perhaps I would be better suited to simply handing you your tools, sir. Mopping up blood and such."

"Yes, yes, whatever gets you to help me. Now do as I say, and we may yet be able to save this young woman's life."

Sebastian bowed slightly, then set about doing as he was told, bringing in multiple lanterns from adjacent rooms and lighting them around the bed. Once that was done, both gentlemen rolled up their sleeves and got to work. It was a long and arduous process. The doctor had some trouble finding the bleed, but let out a cry of achievement when he had. It was still extremely difficult for him to get to it once he had found it, as the cuts were so small.

"Stitching this will be too dangerous. We'll need something...this should do." He handed Sebastian a long, thin tool. "It'll have to be cauterized."

"I'll see to it, sir."

"Once it's hot enough, you'll have to hold her down, we may need some extra hands. She'll be in extreme pain, and it might send her into shock."

"I assure you, Doctor, I am strong enough to hold her. It will not be a problem."

"Are you sure?" the doctor looked at him skeptically.

"Quite sure. She is, after all, quite small."

Dr. Halmund hmphed at him, then sent him to set the poker in the fire after cleaning it thoroughly. The butler watched the poker in the fire, slightly irritated at how slowly it seemed heat up. He spared a small glance to the doctor, then back to the fire. The Faustian mark on the back of his hand began to tingle, and he knew if anyone were to look him in the face, they would see his oddly maroon eyes glowing fuchsia. Under his gaze, the flames jumped, heating the metal much more quickly. A smirk traced his lips as it began to glow red. Once it was white hot, he removed it from the fire, which had returned to its normal height, holding it at the opposite end with a thick cloth. Making his way back to the bed, he turned the poker around and handed it to the other man.

"Good and hot." Dr. Halmund said, taking it. "Now, I need you to hold the wound open carefully so that I can get to the bleed. I'm telling you, we need at least one other person in here, someone strong enough to hold her down, or with hands steady and strong enough to endure the heat from the tool."

Sebastian stood back with a hand on his chin. "Someone with strong hands?" Then he nodded. "A moment, if you please, Doctor." With that, he took the poker back to the fire and he disappeared.

Dr. Halmund turned back to the woman on the bed. "Poor child." He reached forward and swept a lock of sweaty hair off her face. "I will do all in my power to keep you alive, dear." Leaning down, he whispered in her ear. "But I need your help. You have to try, child. Gather all your strength, and pull through. I'm sure you have quite a story." He pressed down on the cloth, attempting to staunch the bleeding more, and he watched as she moaned lightly and her eyebrows scrunched. A few minutes later, the door opened again, and the butler entered once more, this time followed by the other two male servants of Phantomhive.

"Bard, to her side, if you please. You have the hands of a cook, so you may be able to withstand the heat. I will hold down her legs as she may kick once she has been cauterized. Finny, you are strong enough to hold down her arms without much difficulty."

"Right!" both the young men went to their stations. Finny moved her arms above her head, grasping her wrists in one hand, and placing his other arm across her chest to hold her down. Sebastian held down on her legs, careful not to push on her knees so they wouldn't break if she thrashed. Bard listened to the doctor and placed his hands on either side of the wound and holding it open gently.

"Young man," Dr. Halmund said to Finny, taking off his belt and doubling it up, handing it to him, "put this between her teeth, so she doesn't bite her tongue off."

"Alright, doc," Bard asked, "What next?"

"Now, we pray." With that, the doctor retrieved the tool and leaned in with it.

The smell of burning flesh met Sebastian's nose immediately. A smirk graced his lips as his mouth began to water. It seemed to take a moment, but after one, the young woman's eyes blew open. A scream ripped itself past the belt in her mouth, and she began to writhe to get away from the pain. With the scream, Sebastian cringed. As close to the master's office, and as loud as she cried, surely it would make aware the young master. As he thought this, indeed, he heard the stirrings down the hall. He felt his contract mark tingle as the young master called for him. But he could not very well leave in the middle of the operation. Once the poker had been removed, her eyes began to droop. She seemed to fight a few more moments, before she finally gave up and finally went lax. As soon as she had, the doctor began to quickly stitch the wound closed, then moved to the others.

Sebastian backed away, noting the bloodstains on his pristine white gloves. "If you will pardon me, gentlemen, I am needed else-ware. Bard, Finny, return to your duties. Doctor, please proceed to the master's office when you have finished, I believe you know the way, yes?"

"Of course."

"Very well."

)0(

"What was all that noise?" Earl Ciel Phantomhive asked as his butler entered the room with a small bow.

"I do apologize for the fuss, sir. We have had an unexpected visitor, a young lady. It appears she was accosted, harmed in the process. The doctor has already been called upon and is tending to her as we speak."

"A woman? Where was she found?"

Sebastian went to the tea table to prepare a cup for his master. "Finny found her in the oak grove, apparently. Her wounds are substantial, my lord. She may not live out the night."

A knock came at the door. The black-clad butler looked to the young earl, who nodded. He then headed to the door and opened it. There stood the doctor, who inclined his head toward Sebastian and stepped into the room. "I have finished stitching her wounds, my lord, and given her morphine for the pain. I've left a bottle of it on the night table in case she might have need of more. She was gravely injured, whatever happened, poor lass. Whoever did this, did so with much ferocity that it nicked her abdominal artery. She's got a concussion from where the back of her head hit something hard."

Ciel turned to his servant. "You said she was found in the grove?

"There's nothing there that could have given her a concussion. Yes, the ground is much too soft." Sebastian finished the thought. He placed a hand on his chin. "Perhaps she wondered in from the road."

"There's something else," the doctor interjected. "Her clothing is like nothing I've ever seen. And her spectacles are of exceptionally fine material. The glass is clearer than any but the finest. One would think she was of high class."

"Except for her boots and hands." Sebastian said. The doctor nodded, but Ciel looked confused, so he continued. "Her boots show long wear and tear, though they are of quite fine material. As for her hands, they do not have the softness of a noblewoman, or higher-class persons. In fact, the callouses show that she has worked some manual labor. And that's not to mention that strange piercing in her navel."

Ciel sat back in his chair, thin steepled fingers to his pale lips. "So, an enigma of sorts. Sebastian..."

"Yes?" the butler leaned his head slightly to the side in an inquisitive look.

"Find out what you can about this woman. Find out where she came from and how she came to be here. If she can remember who attacked her, perhaps we may be able to help her get some...justice."

Out of view of the doctor, Sebastian smirked to him, eyes glowing pink as he felt the particular tingle of the order given to him, "Yes, my young lord.

)0(

_**A/N: There ya go, lovelies. The first chapter is finally done. Second shall be up shortly. I'll be working on it tonight as I drink a little wine and watch American Horror Story.**_


	2. Chapter 2

_**Chapter Two~ Eyes Wide Open**_

The darkness was thick in her mind. She couldn't feel the pain anymore, but there was a different kind of dark than before. She was completely numb, floating in the worst way possible. The floating was making her nauseous, her head was spinning. With a groan, she attempted to turn, trying to stop it. A hand pushed her back down on her back.

"Miss, I must ask you to remain flat. Your wounds are substantial."

Bri cracked her eyes open. A face swam in her vision, the hand still on her shoulder. "Where am I?" She mumbled

"Phantomhive manor, Miss Bri..." he stopped, seeming to struggle with the name, "Briathos." He finally said with a bit of a bite to his voice.

"Ph-phantom-hive? Where is that? I was at home..."

"Where is home?" He inquired.

"23rd Street." When he didn't respond, she continued. "Comlumbia...Missouri?"

"Missouri? Then how did you come to be here?"

"Here? Where's here?" Bri's eyes rolled around, not really seeing much through the haze in her mind. The one thing that she kept settling on his eyes. Something about them didn't seem right.

"Just outside of London, Miss.

This statement, made her eyes shoot open. "London? As in England?!"

"Yes, Miss. How could you have possibly come here? Were you taken from your home? Did someone kidnap you?"

"No," she ground out, trying to wet her throat. "No. I was at home, and this...this man came out of nowhere. He was asking for money. I tried to get away from him, but he was holding my wrist, hard." Sebastian cocked his head to the side, gently picked up both of her wrists to examine them. Sure enough, her left arm had a dark purple bruise blooming on the delicate skin around her bones. She didn't even seem to notice when he held her arm. "I didn't even have any money on me. But, he took my purse anyway. Next thing I know... I'm on the ground, pouring rain, and everything hurts. I think that's when what's-his-name found me. The little guy with the blond hair."

"You mean Finny. Yes, he found you out on the grounds." There was a particular scent that clung to her, he couldn't quite place it. It smelled like smog, blood, and some sort of divine presence. "If I may, Miss, what day was it that you were assaulted?"

Her brows scrunched. It took her a long time to answer him, obviously trying to think past the mild concussion she had sustained. "The 16th." She finally mumbled.

It was now the 30th, which didn't make sense, as her wounds were brand new. "What month, Miss?"

"It was June, there was a meteor shower. It was hot."

Sebastian thought for a moment. "Do you know what year it is?"

"Of course," she mumbled, slowly falling back into the deep pit that the morphine had created. "It 20...2019." And with that, she passed out again.

The butler reeled back, astounded, then schooled his features into a mask of amusement. "2019? Well, well, aren't you quite the conundrum, my dear."

)0(

The next time she awoke, Bri was alone. She wasn't numb anymore, which meant she could feel every bit of pain and itching from the stitches around the wound. With a groan, she placed a hand on them, pressing to stop the itch. She knew better than to try to scratch. Somehow, she managed to sit up, slowly. The room around her was opulent to say the least. All the furnishing were of sturdy, polished wood, and trimmed with a fantastically rich purples. Every shade, from a luxurious lavender to a deep royal purple. The bed she laid upon was made up with such fine cotton sheets and a silken duvet, so fine in fact, that she immediately felt horrible about the fact that she had probably been on similar sheets when whoever had stitched her up had operated on her. There was no way they had moved her in the condition she'd been in. How she was still alive was lost to her. Honestly, she had come to peace with the idea of passing on the moment she'd seen that knife sticking from her gullet.

Her feet lowered to the floor, covered with a beautiful Persian run of similar colors to the rest of the room. It was soft under the sensitive pads of her feet. Suddenly, she noticed that she was no longer wearing her boots. Obviously not. Why would she be? They would have taken all of her clothes if she were to be laying in a nice bed for any length of time. Sure enough, her bloodstained blouse and jeans were gone, in place of them was a plain white nightgown. Much to her horror, there was a little bit of blood that had seeped through the itchy bandages under it, and it had made a few small blotches around the torso. But it was old, dried, so it had been there for at least a few days.

How long had she been asleep?

In an attempt to answer her own question, she pushed herself from the bed, painfully. Though not as painfully as it should have been. Her legs felt like jelly as she hobbled her way to the door. It was unlocked. Honestly, she didn't know what she had expected. It's not as if she would have been able to do anything at all to harm a person. Not as weak as she was. The rest of the house, from what she could see of the hallway, was just as fine as the bedroom she was in. But in there, the furnishings were gold and blue rather than the shades that decorated her room. With one hand on her belly, Bri made her way down the hall, listening for any sign of life. There was nothing, no talking, no footsteps. She opened several doors, none of them revealing anything. The last room she came to ended up being a library, and she wandered into it, eyes wide at the sheer number of books. All around her were overstuffed chairs, looking extremely inviting. Much as she wanted to, though, she couldn't stay in there. She had to find someone to explain what had happened.

Closing the door, Bri continued down the hall, thinking about what the man had told her right before she had passed out again. She was in England. That just wasn't possible. Everything looked strange. The sky outside was cloudy, though with a bit of sunshine. She noticed, for the first time as she stood at the window, that she was cold. The chill hadn't been evident at first, probably because she was still slightly delirious from whatever the doctor had given her. Speaking of doctors, why hadn't Bri been taken to a hospital? Why had they kept her in the...manor? Surely they would have called an ambulance to come get her once they found her. England had hospitals. Why was she so cold? Didn't they have heat in this place?

Stumbling away from the window, she turned the corner to find a set of stairs. They went down, so down she went. It was rough going down, Her legs didn't want to cooperate with her. Halfway down, she sank down, still clinging to the banister. Her breathing was coming out in a slight huff, and her belly was on fire. She moaned quietly, realizing suddenly that it might have been a bad idea to leave the room. Why was she so tired after such a short trip? Her eyes started to drift close.

"Miss!" the sound of footsteps thundered up the stairs. Somehow, Bri managed to force her eyes open. The woman from before, a maid by the looks of it. Did maids really still wear that kind of uniform? "Oh my! You're not supposed to be out of bed. It's the doctor's orders that you are to stay in bed for at least another week, yes you are!"

Sitting up straight, Bri looked at the red-headed, bespectacled maid. "I'm sorry. I woke up by myself. I didn't know if there was anyone here. Where is everyone?"

"Oh, well, the young master and Sebastian are gone to town for a few days, they should be back by tomorrow. Finny is outside, and Bard is making lunch, I think. Oh, we best get you back upstairs, yes, we should. Can you stand?" Bri attempted it, but only got about three inches off the steps before her legs gave out again and she fell back. "Oh, well, maybe I can just..." the maid slipped her arms around her waist, and endeavored to lift her. Bri had more luck pulling herself up with the maid's help. It was slow going, but somehow, they managed to get back up the stairs and down the hall back to the purple room where she had awoken. By that time, there was a few more, fresh splotches of blood on the nightgown. "Oh, well, it's a good thing that was an old gown. Looks like we won't be able to get all that out of it." The maid said as she laid back down, picking at the front of the cloth.

"Was...was this yours?" Bri asked her quietly, fearful for the response.

"Well, yes. But I hardly wore it. It was from before I came to the manor, yes it was. The master gave me lots of new ones when I arrived. Now, miss, you mustn't move much. I'll be back with something for you to eat shortly, yes I will."

"Wait!" Bri sat up a bit as the maid reached for the door. "What's your name?"

"Who me? Oh, I'm Mey-Rin. I'm the Phantomhive maid, miss." As she said this, she had turned away from the door and given a little curtsy. "And what about yourself, miss? Sebastian wouldn't tell us your name. Seemed oddly like he couldn't say it, it did."

"I'm Bri. My mother called me Briathos, but I hate that name."

The newly named Mey-Rin broke into a large smile. "Well, then, I'll just call you Miss Bri then, shall I?"

"I mean, you don't have to call me miss," she laid back again. "I don't think I'm of any higher standard than you. I mean, I'm only a bank teller."

"A bank teller?" Mey-Rin stopped again. "But that's a man's job, miss."

That's when it clicked. The clothes, the accents, the way everyone had been calling her miss, how cold it was despite how obviously wealthy the owner of the house was. She had seen no tvs in any of the rooms, no outlets of any kind, and the faint smell of gas coming from the light fixtures around the manor. Mey-Rin believed that working at a bank was a man's job? It hadn't really been something strictly men did for years. In fact, most bank tellers now were women, as it was an office job as oppose to a more physically demanding job. 'Now'...'now' was a relative term, she realized. That was the only explanation. The man, Sebastian, had seemed confused when she told him when she'd been hurt. He had asked what year she thought it was. She didn't remember how he had reacted when she told him, but she knew that if he had asked, surely, she had been wrong.

No, this couldn't be right. There was just no way.

"Mey-Rin?"

"Yes, miss?"

Bri cringed at that. "What year is it?"

Mey-Rin looked at her strangely. "1888, miss."

The words echoed in her ears. _1888...1888...1888._

No...

No...

She stared at the canopy above her. She didn't hear the maid calling for her until she touched her shoulder.

"Miss, are you alright?"

"I'm ok," she murmured. She wasn't really. But she couldn't let someone else know that. Especially not someone who didn't know that she was from 2019. Maybe it was all a dream. Yeah, that had to be it. She was in a coma from the blood loss from the attack, and she was dreaming all this.

"Right, well, if you're sure...I'll see what Bard's cooking up and I'll bring you some. You need to get your strength back." With that, she curtsied one more time and left the room, leaving Bri to continue denying what she had just learned.

)0(

Sometime later, as Bri was finishing up the simple lunch of ham and potatoes, she heard the sound of wheels on gravel. The bed was in the middle of the room, so too far away from the window for her to see out of it. She wondered who was coming, if maybe it was this 'master' Mey-Rin had been talking about. There seemed to be a commotion downstairs. It sounded like everyone was running around trying to prepare for whoever was arriving. Bri stuffed the last of the potatoes in her mouth and put the tray on the table beside her. She shifted uncomfortably on the mountain of pillows Mey-Rin had piled up behind her to prop her up, and she waited.

And she waited.

The sun was starting to set in the sky by the time someone finally came.

A knock sounded at the door. "Miss," a man's voice called out, "I've brought your dinner. Are you awake?"

"I'm up," she called out, attempting to sit back up. She had laid back down while she waited because sitting for so long had begun to hurt. The door opened as she was halfway up and the man from before entered with another tray.

When he saw her struggling, he sighed. "Dear me, you really shouldn't be moving so much." He closed the door behind him and moved forward, leaving the tray by the door. "Please, miss, allow me to assist you."

Bri, who was only up to being propped up on her elbows at this point, sighed. "Sure, I guess."

"Very good then." Less than a second later, he had his hands under har armpits and was pulling her into a sitting position with much less trouble than Mey-Rin had had. In fact, it was almost strange how easily he lifted her. With a little flourish of lifting her half off the bed, the man set her back against the pillows. He didn't even hesitate to get in her face. Bri tried to pull back, but she was stuck against the headboard. They stayed like that for a moment, with him in her space, breath hitting her face in gentle waves. After staring at her for a very long minute, he reached behind her and began rearranging the pillows so that she sat up straight. "My apologies, miss. The pillows were not adequate to help you sit."

"I can sit on my own, thank you very much." The words came out more like a breathy whisper as he was still mere inches away from her.

"Perhaps, but what sort of butler would I be if I let an injured guest exert themselves." He responded softly.

She blinked, trying to think. "So, you're a butler, then? Jeez, the guy who owns this place must be filthy rich."

A strange smile pulled at the corners of the man's mouth. "Indeed, he is, miss." With that, he pulled away and turned back to the tray. "Tonight, we have a simple dish of filet mignon in red wine sauce with onions, with a light spinach and walnut salad. The master ordered it specially made for you, as you are in dire need of replenishing your blood supply and gaining your strength back."

"Yeah, strength would be good. I couldn't even make it down the stairs this afternoon."

The man's eyes widened. "You left your room today?"

Bri shrugged, "Yeah. I woke up and no one was around, so I tried to find someone. I didn't get very far. Looked around for a bit, and made it halfway down the stairs before my legs gave out."

The man sighed, putting one hand to his forehead and squeezed his eyes shut. "I strictly ordered her to look in on you every hour while she attended to her duties." He glanced back at her, eyes traveling down to the new blood that had been exposed from the blanket falling to her hips. "You've reopened your wounds. I was afraid of that."

"I'm ok. It's my fault anyway. I didn't wait around for anyone to come check on me. I kinda woke up and just went. Please don't get mad at Mey-Rin. She made sure I got back to the room safe and sound, even brought me lunch. Besides, as huge as this place is, it's surprising she's able to clean everything by herself every day."

"She doesn't," he rolled his eyes, "Makes more of a mess than anything. They all do." He was grumbling now, almost too soft for her to hear.

"Hey, mister?"

Surprised, he turned his head to her. "Yes?"

"You really shouldn't be so hard on people. Sometimes they aren't as good at things as some you, and that doesn't mean you have to hate on them. Everyone has their own strengths. By the way, what's your name? I've just realized I can't call you mister all the time."

"My name is Sebastian, miss. I am the master's personal butler, and the lead servant of the Phantomhive household. And you would be?"

"Briathos. But, you can call me Bri. I just...I don't really know how I got here, and I'm pretty sure I'm dreaming."

"And why would that be, Miss _Bri_." There was a strange emphasis in his voice at the sound of her name.

"Well, I don't know where I am, don't know how I got here. You told me I'm in England, which is impossible because I was in Missouri. And just a little while ago, Mey-Rin told me it was 1888. Again, impossible."

"And why would that be so impossible?"

"Because that would mean I traveled back in time and that's physically impossible. Unless I've died or something."

"Or something," he murmured to himself. "Perhaps you've been sent back by some heavenly force?"

Bri laughed, which hurt her stitches, so she grimaced and stopped. "I highly doubt that. No force, heavenly or not, would take interest in someone like me."

"Oh, and why is that?" he asked as he brought the steak to her.

"Because I'm boring. Nothing in my life is extraordinary. I'm a bank teller for Christ's sake." She noticed that the butler flinched at that a little. "Sorry, I know, don't take the Lord's name in vain. Not that that really applies to me, since I'm not Christian."

"You aren't?" Sebastian asked as she cut into the meat with the silverware he had supplied.

"Nope. I mean, I grew up in the church and everything. Had two different baptisms when I was little. One in the church and one at the beach. But, when I was a teenager, I just...didn't feel it. I prayed all the time, and nothing good ever happened, y'know? Then a friend of mine introduced me to wicca, and I started in with that, then-"

"Pray tell, what is wicca?" he inturrupted.

"Hmm? Oh, right, this is 1888. New Agey paganism. You know, crystals and herbs and spells and stuff like that. Not to be confused with Satanism, which is basically the complete opposite. Wicca is all more...healing and personal power, and Satanism is...not. A lot of people get the two confused because they don't know the difference."

"How strange. And this is common in your time?"

"Hmm? Oh yeah. Almost everyone is Pagan now. Well, then. Because a lot of us got fed up with the church and not feeling that our needs were being met by the big man in the sky. Though, there are still some that believe in the capital G-o-d and Christ and all that, yet still practice magick."

"And where do you stand on all that?" he asked.

"Me? I don't really know. I've been studying wicca for 13 years and I still don't know exactly what I believe. I _know_ that magick has worked for me. But whether it comes from the singular God, or the polytheistic gods and goddesses, I have no idea."

"I see."

"What about you, Sebastian?"

"Me?" he looked surprised.

"Yes, you. What do you believe in?"

The black-clad man smirked. "I happen to know that God exists. Not that he cares about any of his creations."

"Ah, you're one of those then."

"One of those?"

"Yeah. You believe that God abandoned his children and you're bitter about all the bad in the world."

He laughed suddenly, "Oh, quite the opposite, miss." With his next words, he leaned in and whispered to her. "I revel in it."

Bri quickly swallowed the bite of steak she had in her mouth, almost choking on it in her haste. There was an odd smell surrounding him. Almost like sulfur. She could have sworn his eyes changed color for a split second. The room seemed to darken around him, and she felt extremely small in his presence. There was something about this butler, this man...that didn't seem entirely right. Something was off, she could feel it in her bones. Whatever it was, it sent a strange shiver through her body, like prey held in the eyes of a predator waiting to be snatched up. Her heartbeat sped up, and the tingles of adrenaline pumping through her extremities signaled the beginnings of fight or flight mode kicking in. It was the burning from her stitches as she began to breath harder, that brought her back to the moment.

Shaking her head, she looked back to him. "You're scary, you know that? No wonder Mey-Rin was terrified when she found me on the stairs."

Sebastian pulled back, puzzled, obviously not expecting that reaction. Then he smiled politely. "If that is all, miss, I must see to other responsibilities. The young master will want to speak with you once you are able to walk and you have no proper attire for an audience."

"Gee, thanks for reminding me." She said glumly. "I don't have any money, so I can't really go buy any clothes or anything. Do you think Mey-Rin has another dress I can borrow until I can figure something out?"

"Oh, no, miss. Do not worry about all that. I believe the young master has a plan for all that." The smirk that accompanied that statement was a little off-putting.

"Ok, if you say so..."

)0(

_**A/N: And there's the second chappie, lovelies. Leave a review so I know what you think of it. And tell me any ideas you might have for it too! What do you think is really happening?**_

_**Until next time, my dears, ta-ta.**_


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